Melon variety NUN 26191 MEM

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to the field of  Cucumis melo , in particular to a new variety of  Cucumis melo reticulatus  designated NUN 26191 MEM, plants, seeds and melon fruit.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding. Inparticular, a new and distinct hybrid variety of melon is provided,designated NUN 26191 MEM (or NUN 26191).

The new variety is a Common or Summer type (Cucumis melo reticulatus)with an yellow and gold colored rind at edible maturity.

Provided are seeds of NUN 26191 MEM, plants and plant parts producedfrom these seeds such as harvested fruit or parts thereof, pollen,cells, leaves or parts thereof, petioles, shoots or parts thereof, stemsor parts thereof, roots or parts thereof, cuttings or parts thereof,flowers, vegetative reproductions of the variety NUN 26191 MEM, andprogeny of the variety.

Melons or ‘muskmelons’, Cucumis melo, can be classified into: C. melocantalupensis, C. melo inodorous and C. melo reticulatus.

C. melo cantalupensis are also referred to as Cantaloupes and areprimarily round in shape with prominent ribs and almost no netting. Mosthave orange, sweet flesh and they are usually very fragrant. In contrastto the European cantaloupe, the North American ‘Cantaloupe’ is not ofthis type, but belongs to the true muskmelons.

C. melo reticulatus is the true muskmelon, with reticulated skin(netted) and includes Galia melons, Sharlyn melons and the NorthAmerican cantaloupe. It is also known as “rockmelon” or as “Common” or“Summer” type melon.

C. melo inodorous (or winter melons) can be subdivided into differenttypes, such as Honeydew melon, Piel de Sapo, Sugar melon, Japanesemelon, etc.

Melons come in many sizes and shapes including round, oval, andcylindrical. The flesh is generally orange and quite sweet, but somevarieties of melon and specifically, the Persian melons, can have greenor white flesh. Some green-fleshed melons are quite sweet, but most ofthe green- and white-fleshed melons have a less sweet, but veryrefreshing flavor.

Winter melons, (C. melo inodorus), have a hard rind which preservesfreshness, include the well-known casaba, crenshaw and honeydew types.They are usually quite large with smooth or netted rinds and can be deepgreen, bright yellow, beige and many shades in between. They come injust about any shape imaginable. The flesh can be green, white, paleyellow or orange and is usually incredibly sweet, but not very fragrant.

Honeydew melons are round to slightly oval shape and fruits at maturityof at least 1 kg (on average) or more. The flesh is usually pale greenin color, while the smooth peel ranges from greenish to yellow. Thisfruit grows best in semiarid climates and is harvested based onmaturity. Maturity can be hard to judge, but is based upon ground colorranging from greenish white to creamy yellow. Quality is also determinedby the honeydew having a surface free of scars or defects. Also, ahoneydew should feel heavy for its size and have a waxy surface.

Sprite melon is a kind of melon, similar to honeydew, which originatesfrom Japan. Since the late 1990s, it has been cultivated in NorthCarolina as a specialty crop and has increased in popularity in recentyears. A sprite melon has a round shape and is typically about the sizeof a grapefruit (less than 700 g on average). The flesh of a spritemelon is ivory in color and firm, while the peel ranges from ivory(unripe) to yellowish (ripe). As the melon reaches optimal ripeness,horizontal brown markings will appear near the stem. The firm, juicy,sweet flesh of the sprite melon is usually eaten for dessert and tendsto resemble the flavor of both pears and honeydew, however it is muchsweeter than either of these and can often consist of 18% sugar.

The use of a type of melon is depending on a customer's preference fortaste, color and aroma of the melon flesh. There is thus a need for amagenta fleshed Summer type of melon with unique rind color, absence ofribs, and excellent shipping qualities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, a seed of melon variety NUN 26191 MEM isprovided, wherein a representative sample of said seed has beendeposited under Accession Number NCIMB 42420.

In another aspect the invention provides for a hybrid variety of Cucumismelo reticulatus called NUN 26191 MEM. The invention also provides for aplurality of seeds of the new variety, plants produced from growing theseeds of the new variety NUN 26191 MEM, and progeny of any of these.Especially, progeny retaining one or more (or all) of the“distinguishing characteristics” or one or more (or all) of the“essential morphological and physiological characteristics” oressentially all physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN26191 MEM referred to herein, are encompassed herein as well as methodsfor producing these.

In one aspect, such progeny have (essentially) all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of melon variety NUN 26191 MEM when grownunder the same environmental conditions.

Further, a melon fruit produced on a plant grown from these seeds isprovided.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, an Essentially DerivedVariety of NUN 26191 MEM having one, two or three physiological and/ormorphological characteristics which are different from those of NUN26191 MEM and which otherwise has all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of NUN 26191 MEM, wherein a representativesample of seed of variety NUN 26191 MEM has been deposited underAccession Number NCIMB 42420, is provided.

Further, a vegetatively propagated plant of variety NUN 26191 MEM, or apart thereof, is provided having all the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 26191 MEM when grown under the same environmentalconditions.

Also a plant part derived from variety NUN 26191 MEM is provided,wherein said plant part is selected from the group consisting of:harvested fruits or parts thereof, pollen, ovules, cells, leaves orparts thereof, petioles, shoots or parts thereof, stems or partsthereof, roots or parts thereof, cuttings, seeds, hypocotyl, cotyledon,flowers or parts thereof.

DEFINITIONS

“Melon” or “muskmelon” refers herein to plants of the species Cucumismelo. “Cultivated melon” refers to plants of Cucumis melo i.e.varieties, breeding lines or cultivars of the species C. melo,cultivated by humans and having good agronomic characteristics;preferably such plants are not “wild plants”, i.e. plants whichgenerally have much poorer yields and poorer agronomic characteristicsthan cultivated plants and e.g. grow naturally in wild populations.“Wild plants” include for example ecotypes, PI (Plant Introduction)lines, landraces or wild accessions or wild relatives of a species.

“Common” type or “Summer” type melon refers to melons of the C. meloreticulatus type.

“Netted” skin or rind refers to the presence of reticulate markingscalled ‘netting’ on the skin.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes the whole plant or any partssuch as plant organs, plant cells, plant protoplasts, plant cellcultures or tissue cultures from which whole plants can be regenerated,plant callus, plant cell clumps, plant transplants, seedlings, plantcells that are intact in plants, plant clones or micropropagations, orparts of plants (e.g., harvested tissues, fruits or organs), such asplant cuttings, vegetative propagations, embryos, pollen, ovules,flowers, leaves, fruits, fruit flesh, seeds, clonally propagated plants,roots, stems, stalks, root tips, grafts, parts of any of these and thelike, or derivatives thereof, preferably having the same genetic make-up(or very similar genetic make-up) as the plant from which it isobtained. Also any developmental stage is included, such as seedlings,cuttings prior or after rooting, mature and/or immature plants or matureand/or immature leaves.

“Tissue culture” refers to a composition comprising isolated cells ofthe same or a different type or a collection of such cells organizedinto parts of a plant. Tissue culture of various tissues of cucumber andregeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widely published(see, e.g., Sang-Gu et al. (1988), Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture12: 67-74; Colijn-Hooymans (1994), Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture39: 211-217). Similarly, the skilled person is well-aware how to preparea “cell culture”.

“UPOV descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors described forMuskmelon in the “Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness,Uniformity and Stability, TG/184/3 (Geneva 2001), as published by UPOV(International Union for the Protection of New Varieties and Plants,available on the world wide web at upov.int) and which can be downloadedfrom the world wide web atwww.upov.int/en/publications/tg-rom/tg104/tg_(—)104_(—)5.pdf and isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

“USDA descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors formuskmelon/Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L.) as published by the US Departmentof Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Science and Technology,Plant Variety Protection Office, Beltsville, MD 20705 (available on theworld wide web at www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/) and which can be downloadedfrom the world wide web athttp://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3003780.

“RHS” refers to the Royal Horticultural Society of England whichpublishes an official botanical color chart quantitatively identifyingcolors according to a defined numbering system, The chart may bepurchased from Royal Horticulture Society Enterprise Ltd RHS Garden;Wisley, Woking; Surrey GU236QB, UK, e.g., the RHS colour chart: 2007(The Royal Horticultural Society, charity No: 222879, PO Box 313 LondonSW1P2PE; sold by, e.g., TORSO-VERLAG, Obere Grüben 8. D-97877 Wertheim,Article-No.: Art62-00008 EAN-Nr.: 4250193402112). As used herein, theterm “plant” includes the whole plant or any parts or derivativesthereof, preferably having the same genetic makeup as the plant fromwhich it is obtained, such as plant organs (e.g. harvested ornon-harvested fruits), plant cells, plant protoplasts, plant cell tissuecultures from which whole plants can be regenerated, plant calli, plantcell clumps, plant transplants, seedlings, hypocotyl, cotyledon, plantcells that are intact in plants, plant clones or micropropagations, orparts of plants (e.g. harvested tissues or organs), such as plantcuttings, vegetative propagations, embryos, pollen, ovules, fruits,flowers, leaves, seeds, clonally propagated plants, roots, stems, roottips, grafts, parts of any of these and the like. Also any developmentalstage is included, such as seedlings, cuttings prior or after rooting,mature plants or leaves.

“Harvested plant material” refers herein to plant parts (e.g. fruitsdetached from the whole plant) which have been collected for furtherstorage and/or further use.

“Harvested seeds” refers to seeds harvested from a line or variety, e.g.produced after self-fertilization or cross-fertilization and collected.

A plant having “(essentially) all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics” means a plant having the physiological andmorphological characteristics when grown under the same environmentalconditions of the plant from which it was derived, e.g. the progenitorplant, the parent, the recurrent parent, the plant used for tissue- orcell culture, etc. In certain embodiments the plant has all thephysiological and morphological characteristics, except for certaincharacteristics mentioned, e.g. the characteristic(s) derived from aconverted or introduced gene or trait and/or except for thecharacteristics which differ in an EDV. A plant have one or more“essential physiological and/or morphological characteristics” or one ormore “distinguishing characteristics” refers to a plant having (orretaining) one or more of the characteristics mentioned in Table 1 whengrown under the same environmental conditions that distinguish NUN 26191MEM from the most similar varieties (such as variety Sun Delicious),such as but not limited to rind color at edible maturity, lobes ofmature blade of third leaf, length of seed cavity, width of seed cavity.

The physiological and/or morphological characteristics mentioned aboveare commonly evaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5% or 10%significance level, when measured under the same environmentalconditions. For example, a progeny plant of NUN 26191 MEM may have oneor more (or all) of the essential physiological and/or morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 96141 ME listed in Table 1, as determined at the5% significance level when grown under the same environmentalconditions.

As used herein, the term “variety” or “cultivar” means a plant groupingwithin a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, whichgrouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of abreeder's right are fully met, can be defined by the expression of thecharacteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination ofgenotypes, distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expressionof at least one of the said characteristics and considered as a unitwith regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged.

A variety is referred to as an “Essentially Derived Variety” (EDV) i.e.,shall be deemed to be essentially derived from another variety, “theinitial variety” when (i) it is predominantly derived from the initialvariety, or from a variety that is itself predominantly derived from theinitial variety, while retaining the expression of the essentialcharacteristics that result from the genotype or combination ofgenotypes of the initial variety; (ii) it is clearly distinguishablefrom the initial variety; and (iii) except for the differences whichresult from the act of derivation, it conforms to the initial variety inthe expression of the essential characteristics that result from thegenotype or combination of genotypes of the initial variety. Thus, anEDV may be obtained for example by the selection of a natural or inducedmutant, or of a somaclonal variant, the selection of a variantindividual from plants of the initial variety, backcrossing, ortransformation by genetic engineering.

“Plant line” is for example a breeding line which can be used to developone or more varieties.

“Hybrid variety” or “F1 hybrid” refers to the seeds harvested fromcrossing two inbred (nearly homozygous) parental lines. For example, thefemale parent is pollinated with pollen of the male parent to producehybrid (F1) seeds on the female parent.

“Regeneration” refers to the development of a plant from cell culture ortissue culture or vegetative propagation.

“Vegetative propagation”, “vegetative reproduction” or “clonalpropagation” are used interchangeably herein and mean the method oftaking part of a plant and allowing that plant part to form at leastroots where plant part is, e.g., defined as or derived from (e.g. bycutting of) leaf, pollen, embryo, cotyledon, hypocotyl, cells,protoplasts, meristematic cell, root, root tip, pistil, anther, flower,shoot tip, shoot, stem, fruit, petiole, etc. When a whole plant isregenerated by vegetative propagation, it is also referred to as avegetative propagation.

“Selfing” refers to self-pollination of a plant, i.e., the transfer ofpollen from the anther to the stigma of the same plant. “Crossing”refers to the mating of two parent plants.

“Average” refers herein to the arithmetic mean.

“Locus” (plural loci) refers to the specific location of a gene or DNAsequence on a chromosome. A locus may confer a specific trait.

“Allele” refers to one or more alternative forms of a gene locus. All ofthese loci relate to one trait. Sometimes, different alleles can resultin different observable phenotypic traits, such as differentpigmentation. However, many variations at the genetic level result inlittle or no observable variation. If a multicellular organism has twosets of chromosomes, i.e. diploid, these chromosomes are referred to ashomologous chromosomes. Diploid organisms have one copy of each gene(and therefore one allele) on each chromosome. If both alleles are thesame, they are homozygotes. If the alleles are different, they areheterozygotes.

“Genotype” refers to the genetic composition of a cell or organism.

“Maturity” refers to the fruit developmental stage when the fruit hasfully developed (reached its final size), begins to ripen and undergoesripening, during which fruits can be divided into 1, 2, 3 or morematurity stages. Thereafter, fruits become overripe. In particularembodiments “maturity” is defined as the mature stage of fruitdevelopment and optimal time for harvest. In one embodiment a “mature”melon is defined as having reached the stage of maturity which willinsure the proper completion of the normal ripening process. Inparticular embodiments, fruit should be harvested at a maturity stagei.e. substantially near maximum sweetness and flavor intensity.

“Harvest maturity” is referred to as the stage at which a melon fruit isripe or ready for harvest or the optimal time to harvest the fruit. Inone embodiment, harvest maturity is the stage which allows propercompletion of the normal ripening.

“Abscission zone” is the layer or zone separating the fruit from thepeduncle.

“Cavity” or “seed cavity” is the center of the fruit containing thematernal tissues and seeds.

“Flavor” refers to the sensory impression of a food or other substance,especially a melon fruit or fruit part (fruit flesh) and is determinedmainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell. Flavor is influencedby texture properties and by volatile and/or non-volatile chemicalcomponents (organic acids, lipids, carbohydrates, etc.).

“Aroma” refers to smell (or odor) characteristics of melon fruits orfruit parts (fruit flesh).

The term “traditional breeding techniques” encompasses herein crossing,selfing, selection, double haploid production, embryo rescue, protoplastfusion, marker assisted selection, mutation breeding etc. as known tothe breeder (i.e. methods other than geneticmodification/transformation/transgenic methods), by which, for example,a genetically heritable trait can be transferred from one melon line orvariety to another.

“Backcrossing” is a traditional breeding technique used to introduce atrait into a plant line or variety. The plant containing the trait iscalled the donor plant and the plant into which the trait is transferredis called the recurrent parent. An intial cross is made between thedonor parent and the recurrent parent to produce progeny plants. Progenyplants which have the trait are then crossed to the recurrent parent.After several generations of backcrossing and/or selfing the recurrentparent comprises the trait of the donor. The plant generated in this waymay be referred to as a “single trait converted plant”. “Progeny” asused herein refers to plants derived from a plant designated NUN 26191MEM. Progeny may be derived by regeneration of cell culture or tissueculture or parts of a plant designated NUN 26191 MEM or selfing of aplant designated NUN 26191 MEM or by producing seeds of a plantdesignated NUN 26191 MEM. In further embodiments, progeny may alsoencompass plants derived from crossing of at least one plant designatedNUN 26191 MEM with another melon plant of the same or another variety or(breeding) line, or wild melon plants, backcrossing, inserting of alocus into a plant or mutation. A progeny is, e.g., a first generationprogeny, i.e. the progeny is directly derived from, obtained from,obtainable from or derivable from the parent plant by, e.g., traditionalbreeding methods (selfing and/or crossing) or regeneration. However, theterm “progeny” generally encompasses further generations such as second,third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or more generations, i.e.,generations of plants which are derived from, obtained from, obtainablefrom or derivable from the former generation by, e.g., traditionalbreeding methods, regeneration or genetic transformation techniques. Forexample, a second generation progeny can be produced from a firstgeneration progeny by any of the methods mentioned above.

The terms “gene converted” or “conversion plant” in this context referto melon plants which are developed by backcrossing wherein essentiallyall of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics ofparent are recovered in addition to the one or more genes transferredinto the parent via the backcrossing technique or via geneticengineering. Likewise a “Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant”refers to plants which are developed by plant breeding techniquescomprising or consisting of backcrossing, wherein essentially all of thedesired morphological and physiological characteristics of a melonvariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus having been transferred into the variety via the backcrossingtechnique and/or by genetic transformation.

“Transgene” or “chimeric gene” refers to a genetic locus comprising aDNA sequence which has been introduced into the genome of a melon plantby transformation. A plant comprising a transgene stably integrated intoits genome is referred to as “transgenic plant”.

The term “mean” refers to the arithmetic mean of several measurements.The skilled person understands that the appearance of a plant depends tosome extent on the growing conditions of said plant. Thus, the skilledperson will know typical growing conditions for Summer melons describedherein. The mean, if not indicated otherwise within this application,refers to the arithmetic mean of measurements on at least 10 different,randomly selected plants of a variety or line.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present teachings in any way.

FIG. 1 shows the absence of ribs in NUN 26191 MEM fruits and thepresence of ribs in Sun Delicious fruits.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A C. melo reticulatus is a true muskmelon and includes Galia melons,Sharlyn melons and the North American cantaloupe. A number ofcharacteristics are important to melon breeders such as (a) the fruitlength; (b) the fruit diameter; (c) the fruit weight; (d) the fruitbrix; (e) rind thickness and (f) time point of harvest.

The present invention relates to a Cucumis melo reticulatus melon type,referred to as NUN 26191 MEM which has an yellow and gold colored rindat edible maturity (most similar to Sun Delicious, a commercial varietyof Nunhems B.V.) or progeny or EDVs thereof.

Thus, the melon plant of the invention with its yellow and gold coloredrind when fruits are at edible maturity differs from the most similarcomparison variety Sun Delicious type melons—which rind color becomesgold and orange when the fruits reach the state of edible maturity—inone or more characteristics (referred herein to as “distinguishingcharacteristics” or “distinguishing morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics” (or essential physiological and/or morphologicalcharacteristics) selected from: 1) NUN 26191 MEM has magenta coloredflesh, e.g. RHS Orange Red 32D near the cavity, RHS Orange Red 32C inthe center and RHS 32C near the rind, whereas Sun Delicious has orangecolored flesh, e.g. RHS Orange 24B near the cavity, RHS Orange 24A inthe center and RHS 24A near the rind; 2) NUN 26191 MEM has a weight offruit (at edible maturity) that is at least about 15%, or preferably16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, or even about 20.9% bigger than the weight ofSun Delicious; 3) NUN 26191 MEM has a thickness at medial of the rindthat is at least about 15%, or preferably 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%,or even about 21.8% bigger than the thickness at medial of SunDelicious; 4) NUN 26191 MEM has an absence of ribs, whereas SunDelicious has a presence of ribs; 5) NUN 26191 MEM has excellentshipping quality, whereas Sun Delicious has fair shipping quality.

It is understood that “significant” differences refer to statisticallysignificant differences, when comparing the characteristic between twoplant lines or varieties when grown under the same conditions.Preferably at least about 10, 15, 20 or more plants per line or varietyare grown under the same conditions and characteristics are measured onat least about 10, 15, 20 or more randomly selected plant or plant partsto obtain averages. Thus, physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics or traits are commonly evaluated at a significance levelof 1%, 5% or 10%, when measured in plants grown under the sameenvironmental conditions.

Thus, in one aspect, the invention provides seeds of the melon varietydesignated NUN 26191 MEM wherein a representative sample of seeds ofsaid variety was deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accessionnumber NCIMB 42420.

Seeds of NUN 26191 MEM are obtainable by crossing the male parent withthe female parent and harvesting the seeds produced on the femaleparent. The resultant NUN 26191 MEM seeds can be grown to produce NUN26191 MEM plants. In one embodiment a plurality of NUN 26191 MEM seedsare packaged into small and/or large containers (e.g., bags, cartons,cans, etc.). The seeds may be treated with various compounds, such asseed coatings or fungicides or insecticides.

Also provided are plants of melon variety NUN 26191 MEM, or a fruit orother plant part thereof, produced from seeds, wherein a representativesample of said seeds has been deposited under the Budapest Treaty, withAccession Number NCIMB 42420. Also included is a cell culture or tissueculture produced from such a plant or a plant regenerated from such acell or tissue culture said plant expressing all the morphological andphysiological characteristics of NUN 26191 MEM.

Plants of NUN 26191 MEM can be produced by seeding directly in theground (e.g., field) or by germinating the seeds in controlledenvironment conditions (e.g., greenhouses) and then transplanting theseedlings into the field. For example by sowing the seed into preparedseed beds where they will remain for the entire production of the crop.Alternatively, the melon seed may be planted through a black plasticmulch. The dark plastic will absorb heat from the sun, warming the soilearly. It will also help to conserve moisture during the growing season,controls weeds and makes harvesting easier and cleaner. See for examplewww.anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu for cultivation, harvesting, handling andpostharvest methods commonly used.

In another aspect, the invention provides for a melon plant of melonvariety NUN 26191 MEM, a representative sample of seed from said varietyhas been deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession numberNCIMB 42420.

In other aspects, the invention provides for a fruit of melon varietyNUN 26191 MEM, or a plant part, such as pollen, flowers, shoots orcuttings of variety NUN 26191 MEM or parts thereof.

In still another aspect the invention provides a method of producing amelon plant, comprising crossing a plant of melon variety NUN 26191 MEMwith a second melon plant one or more times, and selecting progeny fromsaid crossing.

In yet another aspect the invention provides a method of producing amelon plant, comprising selfing a plant of melon variety NUN 26191 MEMone or more times, and selecting progeny from said selfing.

In other aspects, the invention provides for progeny of variety NUN26191 MEM such as progeny obtained by further breeding NUN 26191 MEM.Further breeding NUN 26191 MEM includes selfing NUN 26191 MEM one ormore times and/or cross-pollinating NUN 26191 MEM with another melonplant or variety one or more times. In particular, the inventionprovides for progeny that retain all the essential morphological andphysiological characteristics of NUN 26191 MEM or that retain one ormore of the distinguishing characteristics of the melon type describedfurther above and when grown under the same environmental conditions. Inanother aspect, the invention provides for vegetative reproductions ofthe variety and essentially derived varieties (EDVs) of NUN 26191 MEM.

The morphological and/or physiological differences between plantsaccording to the invention, i.e. NUN 26191 MEM or progeny thereof, or anEDV thereof, and other known varieties can easily be established bygrowing NUN 26191 MEM next to the other varieties (in the same field,under the same environmental conditions), preferably in severallocations which are suitable for said melon cultivation, and measuringmorphological and/or physiological characteristics of a number of plants(e.g., to calculate an average value and to determine the variationrange/uniformity within the variety). For example, trials can be carriedout in Acampo Calif., USA (N 38 degrees 07′261″/W 121 degrees 18′807″,USA, whereby e.g. type of melon, area of best adaption in USA, days fromseeding to harvest, plant fertility, plant habit, leaf shape, leaflobes, leaf color, leaf length, width and surface, fruit length, fruitdiameter, fruit weight, fruit shape, fruit surface, blossom scar, ribpresence and number of ribs per fruit, rib width, rib surface, suturedepth, suture surface, shipping quality, fruit abscission, rind netpresence/distribution/coarseness/interlacing/interstices, rind texture,rind texture thickness, rind color at edible maturity, mottling color,net color, furrow (suture), rind color at full maturity, mottling color,net color, furrow (suture), flesh color near cavity, flesh color incenter, flesh color near rind, % soluble solids, flesh aroma, fleshflavor, seed cavity length, seed cavity width, seed cavity shape, numberof seeds per fruit, weight per 1,000 seeds, disease resistances and/orinsect resistances can be measured and directly compared.

Morphological and physiological characteristics (and distinguishingcharacteristics) of NUN 26191 MEM, are provided in the Examples, inTable 1. Encompassed herein are also plants derivable from NUN 26191 MEM(e.g. by selfings and/or crossing and/or backcrossing with NUN 26191 MEMand/or progeny thererof) comprising all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of NUN 96141 listed in Table 1 asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions and/or comprising one or more (or all; or allexcept one, two or three) of the distinguishing characteristics asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions.

Also at-harvest and/or post-harvest characteristics of fruits can becompared, such as cold storage holding quality (browning), post-harvestrind firmness and/or flesh firmness, and juiciness can be measured usingknown methods. Melon fruits of NUN 26191 MEM or progeny thereofremaining essentially free of external blemishes and having good eatingquality.

Flesh firmness can for example be measured using a penetrometer, e.g. byinserting a probe into the fruit flesh and determining the insertionforce, or other methods.

The morphological and/or physiological characteristics may vary somewhatwith variation in the environment (such as temperature, light intensity,day length, humidity, soil, fertilizer use), which is why a comparisonunder the same environmental conditions is preferred. Colors can best bemeasured against The Munsell Book of Color (Munsell Color MacbethDivision of Kollmorgan Instruments Corporation) or using the RoyalHorticultural Society Chart(http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/RHS-colour-charts).

In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides for melon fruits ofvariety NUN 26191 MEM, or a part of the fruit. In another embodiment,the invention provides for a container comprising or consisting of aplurality of harvested melon fruits of NUN 26191 MEM, or progenythereof, or a derived variety, such as an EDV.

In yet a further embodiment, the invention provides for a method ofproducing a new melon plant. The method comprises crossing a plant ofthe invention NUN 26191 MEM, or an EDV thereof, or a progeny plantthereof, either as male or as female parent, with a second melon plant(or a wild relative of melon) one or more times, and/or selfing a melonplant according to the invention i.e. NUN 26191 MEM, or an EDV thereof,or a progeny plant thereof, one or more times, and selecting progenyfrom said crossing and/or selfing. The second melon plant may forexample be a line or variety of the species C. melo cantalupensis, C.melo inodorous or C. melo reticulatus.

Progeny are either the generation (seeds) produced from the first cross(F1) or selfing (S1), or any further generation produced by crossingand/or selfing (F2, F3, etc.) and/or backcrossing (BC1, BC2, etc.) oneor more selected plants of the F1 and/or S1 and/or BC1 generation (orplants of any further generation, e.g. the F2) with another melon plant(and/or with a wild relative of melon). Progeny may have all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of melon variety NUN26191 MEM when grown under the same environmental conditions and/orprogeny may have (be selected for having) one or more of thedistinguishing characteristics of melons of the invention. Using commonbreeding methods such as backcrossing or recurrent selection, one ormore specific characteristics may be introduced into NUN 26191 MEM, toprovide an EDV of NUN 26191 MEM.

The invention provides for methods of producing varieties which retainall the morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 26191MEM. The invention provides also for methods of producing EDVs(Essentially Derived Varieties) of NUN 26191 MEM which differ from NUN26191 MEM in one, two, three or more morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics, but which are still genetically closely related to NUN26191 MEM. The relatedness can, for example be determined byfingerprinting techniques (e.g., making use of isozyme markers and/ormolecular markers such as SNP markers, AFLP markers, microsatellites,minisatellites, RAPD markers, RFLP markers and others). A plant is“closely related” to NUN 26191 MEM if its DNA fingerprint is at least80%, 90%, 95% or 98% identical to the fingerprint of NUN 26191 MEM. In apreferred embodiment AFLP markers are used for DNA fingerprinting (Voset al. 1995, Nucleic Acid Research 23: 4407-4414). A closely relatedplant may have a Jaccard's Similarity index of at least about 0.8,preferably at least about 0.9, 0.95, 0.98 or more (Pisanu et al. ISHS2004, Acta Hort. 660). The invention also provides plants and varietiesobtained by these methods. EDVs may be produced by crossing and/orselfing, or alternatively, an EDV may simply be identified and selectedamongst NUN 26191 MEM plants, or progeny thereof, e.g. by identifying avariant within NUN 26191 MEM or progeny thereof (e.g. produced byselfing) which variant differs from NUN 26191 MEM in one, two or threeof the morphological and/or physiological characteristics (e.g. in one,two or three distinguishing characteristics), e.g. those listed in Table1 or others.

By crossing and/or selfing also (one or more) single traits may beintroduced into the variety of the invention i.e. NUN 26191 MEM (e.g.,using backcrossing breeding schemes), while retaining the remainingmorphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 26191 MEM and/orwhile retaining one or more distinguishing characteristics. A singletrait converted plant may thereby be produced. For example, diseaseresistance genes may be introduced, genes responsible for one or morequality traits, yield, etc. Both single genes (dominant or recessive)and one or more QTLs (quantitative trait loci) may be transferred intoNUN 26191 MEM by breeding with NUN 26191 MEM.

Any pest or disease resistance genes may be introduced into a plantaccording to the invention, i.e. NUN 26191 MEM, progeny thereof or intoan EDV of NUN 26191 MEM. Resistance to one or more of the followingdiseases is preferably introduced into plants of the invention:Bacterial Wilt, Root Rot, Crown Blight, Melon Rust, Powdery Mildew,Verticillum Wilt, Sulphur Burn, Scab, Watermelon Mosaic, Downy Mildew,Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis (Fom) race 0, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.melonis (Fom) race 1, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis (Fom) race 2,Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis (Fom) race 1-2, Fusarium Wilt R2, RootKnot (Nematode), Anthracnose, Cucumber Mosiac, and Squash Mosaic.

Resistance to one or more of the following pests is preferably presentor introduced into plants of the invention: Aphid resistance, PickleWorm, Darkling Ground Beetle, Banded Cucumber Beetle, Mite, WesternSpotted Cucumber Beetle, Melon Leafhopper, Melon Worm, Western StripedCucumber Beetle or Melon Leafminer. Other resistance genes, againstpathogenic viruses, fungi, bacteria or pests may also be introduced.

Thus, invention also provides a method for developing a melon plant in amelon breeding program, using a melon plant of the invention, or itsparts as a source of plant breeding material. Suitable plant breedingtechniques are recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigree breeding,mass selection, mutation breeding and/or genetic marker enhancedselection. For example, in one aspect, the method comprises crossing NUN26191 MEM or progeny thereof, or an EDV thereof, with a different melonplant, and wherein one or more offspring of the crossing are subject toone or more plant breeding techniques selected from the group consistingof recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigree breeding, mass selection,mutation breeding and genetic marker enhanced selection (see e.g. Martinet al. 2008, Australian Journal of Crop Science 1(2): 43-46). Forbreeding methods in general see Principles of Plant Genetics andBreeding, 2007, George Acquaah, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN-13:978-1-4051-3646-4.

The invention thus also provides a method of introducing a single locusconversion, or single trait conversion, into a melon plant according tothe invention and/or into NUN 26191 MEM comprising:

-   (a) crossing a melon plant of variety NUN 26191 MEM, a    representative sample of seed of said variety having been deposited    under Accession Number NCIMB 42420, with a second melon plant    comprising a desired single locus to produce F1 progeny plants;-   (b) selecting F1 progeny plants that have the single locus to    produce selected F1 progeny plants;-   (c) crossing the selected progeny plants with a plant of NUN 26191    MEM, to produce backcross progeny plants;-   (d) selecting backcross progeny plants that have the single locus    and one or more (or all) distinguishing characteristics of melons    according to the invention and/or all the physiological and    morphological characteristics of NUN 26191 MEM to produce selected    backcross progeny plants; and-   (e) optionally repeating steps (c) and (d) one or more times in    succession to produce selected second, third or fourth or higher    backcross progeny plants that comprise the single locus and    otherwise one or more (or all) the distinguishing characteristics of    the melons according to the invention and/or comprise all of the    physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 26191 MEM,    when grown in the same environmental conditions.

The above method is provided, wherein the single locus confers a trait,wherein the trait is pest resistance or disease resistance.

In one embodiment the trait is disease resistance and the resistance isconferred to Bacterial Wilt, Root Rot, Crown Blight, Melon Rust, PowderyMildew, Verticillum Wilt, Sulphur Burn, Scab, Watermelon Mosaic, DownyMildew, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis (Fom) race 0, Fusariumoxysporum f.sp. melonis (Fom) race 1, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis(Fom) race 2, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis (Fom) race 1-2, FusariumWilt R2, Root Knot (Nematode), Anthracnose, Cucumber Mosiac, or SquashMosaic.

In one embodiment the trait is pest resistance and the resistance isconferred to Aphid, Pickle Worm, Darkling Ground Beetle, Banded CucumberBeetle, Mite, Western Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Melon Leafhopper, MelonWorm, Western Striped Cucumber Beetle or Melon Leafminer.

The invention also provides a melon plant comprising at least a firstset of the chromosomes of melon line NUN 26191 MEM, a sample of seed ofsaid line having been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 42420;further comprising a single locus conversion, wherein said plant hasessentially all of the morphological and physiological characteristicsof the plant comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of melonline NUN 26191 MEM. In another embodiment, this single locus conversionconfers a trait selected from the group consisting of male sterility,herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance, diseaseresistance, environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydratemetabolism and modified protein metabolism.

In one embodiment, NUN 26191 MEM may also be mutated (by e.g.irradiation, chemical mutagenesis, heat treatment, etc.) and mutatedseeds or plants may be selected in order to change one or morecharacteristics of NUN 26191 MEM. Also natural mutants or naturalvariants of NUN 26191 MEM may be identified and used in breeding.Methods such as TILLING and/or EcoTILLING may be applied to melonpopulations in order to identify mutants. Similarly, NUN 26191 MEM maybe transformed and regenerated, whereby one or more chimeric genes areintroduced into the variety or into an EDV thereof. Transformation canbe carried out using standard methods, such as Agrobacterium tumefaciensmediated transformation or biolistics, followed by selection of thetransformed cells and regeneration into plants. A desired trait (e.g.genes conferring pest or disease resistance, herbicide, fungicide orinsecticide tolerance, etc.) can be introduced into NUN 26191 MEM, orprogeny thereof, by transforming NUN 26191 MEM or progeny thereof with atransgene that confers the desired trait, wherein the transformed plantretains all the phenotypic and/or morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 26191 MEM or the progeny thereof and contains thedesired trait.

The invention also provides for progeny of melon variety NUN 26191 MEMobtained by further breeding with NUN 26191 MEM. In one aspect progenyare F1 progeny obtained by crossing NUN 26191 MEM with another plant orS1 progeny obtained by selfing NUN 26191 MEM. Also encompassed are F2progeny obtained by selfing the F1 plants. “Further breeding”encompasses traditional breeding (e.g., selfing, crossing,backcrossing), marker assisted breeding, and/or mutation breeding. Inone embodiment, the progeny have one or more (or all) of thedistinguishing characteristics mentioned further above when grown underthe same environmental conditions. In a further embodiment the progenyhave all the physiological and morphological characteristics of varietyNUN 26191 MEM when grown under the same environmental conditions. Inanother embodiment the progeny are EDVs and/or have one, two, or threedistinct traits (qualitative or quantitative) introduced into NUN 26191MEM, while retaining all the other physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of variety NUN 26191 MEM when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions.

An EDV is an Essentially Derived Variety of NUN 26191 MEM having one,two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics whichare different from those of NUN 26191 MEM and which otherwise has allthe physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 26191 MEM,wherein a representative sample of seed of variety NUN 26191 MEM hasbeen deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 42420. In particularvariants which differ from NUN 26191 MEM in one, two or three of thecharacteristics mentioned in Table 1 are encompassed.

In one aspect, the EDV differs from NUN 26191 MEM in one, two or threeof the distinguishing morphological and/or physiological characteristicsselected from the group consisting of: : I) flesh color at ediblematurity, II) fruit weight at edible maturity, III) thickness at medialof the rind, IV) presence of ribs, and V) shipping quality.

In another embodiment the EDV may differ from NUN 26191 MEM in one, twoor three morphological or physiological characteristic other than the“distinguishing morphological and/or physiological characteristics” (oressential physiological and/or morphological characteristics) of NUN26191 MEM selected from: i) length of fruit (at edible maturity); 2)diameter of fruit (at edible maturity); 3) width of seed cavity; 4)number of seeds per fruit; 5) petiole length.

Melons according to the invention, such as the variety NUN 26191 MEM, orits progeny, or an EDV of NUN 26191 MEM, can also be reproduced usingvegetative reproduction methods. Therefore, the invention provides for amethod of producing plants, or a part thereof, of variety NUN 26191 MEM,comprising vegetative propagation of variety NUN 26191 MEM. Vegetativepropagation comprises regenerating a whole plant from a part of varietyNUN 26191 MEM (or from its progeny or from an EDV of NUN 26191 MEM),such as a cutting, a cell culture or a tissue culture.

The invention also provides for a vegetatively propagated plant ofvariety NUN 26191 MEM (or from its progeny or from an EDV of NUN 26191MEM), or a part thereof, having one or more distinguishingcharacteristics and/or all the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 26191 MEM (except for the characteristicsdiffering in the EDV), when grown under the same environmentalconditions.

Parts of NUN 26191 MEM (or of its progeny or of an EDV of NUN 26191 MEM)encompass any cells, tissues, organs obtainable from the seedlings orplants, such as but not limited to: melon fruits or parts thereof,cuttings, hypocotyl, cotyledon, pollen and the like. Such parts can bestored and/or processed further. Encompassed are therefore also food orfeed products comprising one or more of such parts, such as canned melonfruit from NUN 26191 MEM or from progeny thereof, or from a derivedvariety, such as an EDV.

In one aspect haploid plants and/or double haploid plants of NUN 26191MEM, or an EDV or progeny of any of these, are encompassed herein.Haploid and double haploid (DH) plants can, for example, be produced bycell or tissue culture and chromosome doubling agents and regenerationinto a whole plant. For DH production chromosome doubling may be inducedusing known methods, such as colchicine treatment or the like.

Also provided are plant parts derived from variety NUN 26191 MEM (orfrom its progeny or from an EDV of NUN 26191 MEM), or from avegetatively propagated plant of NUN 26191 MEM (or from its progeny orfrom an EDV of NUN 26191 MEM), being selected from the group consistingof: harvested fruits or parts thereof, pollen, cells, leaves or partsthereof, petioles, cotyledons, hypocotyls, shoots or parts thereof,stems or parts thereof, roots or parts thereof, cuttings, or flowers.

In one embodiment, the invention provides for extracts of a plantdescribed herein and compositions comprising or consisting of suchextracts. In a preferred embodiment, the extract consists of orcomprises tissue of a plant described herein or is obtained from suchtissue.

In one aspect the invention relates to a Cucumis melo plant of theCommon or Summer type which has 1) an excellent shipping quality; 2) anaverage fruit weight of about 1600 to about 2400 grams, preferably about1800 to about 2200 grams, or about 1890 to about 2090 grams or evenabout 1970 to about 12010 grams; 3) no ribs; 4) Magenta fruit flesh; 5)an average number of seeds of about 564 to about 764, preferably betweenabout 614 and about 714, or even between about 654 and 674.

The invention also provides for a food or feed product comprising orconsisting of a plant part described herein preferably a melon fruit orpart thereof and/or an extract from a plant part described herein. Thefood or feed product may be fresh or processed, e.g., canned, steamed,boiled, fried, blanched and/or frozen, etc.

For example, containers such as cans, boxes, crates, bags, cartons,Modified Atmosphere Packagings, films (e.g. biodegradable films), etc.comprising plant parts of plants (fresh and/or processed) describedherein are also provided herein.

Marketable melon fruits are generally sorted by size and quality afterharvest.

All documents (e.g., patent publications) are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety.

CITED REFERENCES

-   -   Acquaah, Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding, 2007,        Blackwell Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-3646-4    -   Colijn-Hooymans (1994), Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 39:        211-217    -   http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3003780    -   http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/RHS-colour-charts    -   http://www.upov.int/en/publications/tg-rom/tg104/tg_(—)104_(—)5.pdf    -   Martin et al. 2008, Australian Journal of Crop Science 1(2):        43-46    -   Pisanu et al. ISHS 2004, Acta Hort. 660    -   Sang-Gu et al. (1988), Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 12:        67-74    -   Vos et al. 1995, Nucleic Acid Research 23: 4407-4414

EXAMPLES

Development of NUN 26191 MEM

The hybrid NUN 26191 MEM was developed from a male and femaleproprietary inbred line of Nunhems. The female and male parents werecrossed to produce hybrid (F1) seeds of NUN 26191 MEM. The seeds of NUN26191 MEM can be grown to produce hybrid plants and parts thereof (e.g.melon fruit). The hybrid NUN 26191 MEM can be propagated by seeds orvegetative.

The hybrid variety is uniform and genetically stable. This has beenestablished through evaluation of horticultural characteristics. Severalhybrid seed production events resulted in no observable deviation ingenetic stability. Coupled with the confirmation of genetic stability ofthe female and male parents the Applicant concluded that NUN 26191 MEMis uniform and stable.

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

A total of 2500 seeds of the hybrid variety NUN 26191 MEM were depositedaccording to the Budapest Treaty by Nunhems B.V. on Jun. 17, 2015, atthe NCIMB Ltd., Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn,Aberdeen AB21 9YA, United Kingdom (NCIMB). The deposit has been assignedAccession Number NCIMB 42420. A deposit of NUN 26191 MEM and of the maleand female parent line is also maintained at Nunhems B.V. Access to thedeposit will be available during the pendency of this application topersons determined by the Director of the U.S. Patent Office to beentitled thereto upon request. Subject to 37 C.F.R. §1.808(b), allrestrictions imposed by the depositor on the availability to the publicof the deposited material will be irrevocably removed upon the grantingof the patent. The deposit will be maintained for a period of 30 years,or 5 years after the most recent request, or for the enforceable life ofthe patent whichever is longer, and will be replaced if it ever becomesnonviable during that period. Applicant does not waive any rightsgranted under this patent on this application or under the Plant VarietyProtection Act (7 USC 2321 et seq.).

“USDA descriptors” are plant variety descriptors described for melon inthe “Objective Description of Variety Muskmelon/Cantaloupe (Cucumis meloL.)—Exhibit C” of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, AgriculturalMarketing Service, Science and Technology, Plant Variety ProtectionOffice, Beltsville, Md. 20705, which can be downloaded fromhttp://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3003780, and isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The most similar variety to NUN 26191 MEM is Sun Delicious a commercialvariety from Nunhems. In Table 1 a comparison between NUN 26191 MEM andSun Delicious is shown based on a trial in the USA. Trial location:Acampo Calif. USA, (coordinates: 38°19′2873″N, −121°23′2637″W), USA2013. Average temperatures for the day were 33.1° C. and 14.7° C. forthe night. Planting date: 9 May 2013, transplant date: 5 Jun. 2013,harvesting dates harvesting dates 98 days after sowing (NUN26191 MEM);92 days after sowing (check variety Sun Delicious).(

Two replication of 50 plants each, from which 15 plants or plant partswere randomly selected to measure characteristics. In Table 1 the USDAdescriptors of NUN 26191 MEM (this application) and reference SunDelicious (commercial variety).

TABLE 1 Application Variety Comparison Variety USDA Descriptor NUN 26191MEM Sun Delicious 1. TYPE: 5 5 1 = Persian 2 = Honey Dew 3 = Casaba 4 =Crenshaw 5 = Common or Summer 6 = Other     . 2. AREA OF BEST ADAPTATIONIN 3 3 U.S.A.: 1 = Southeast 2 = Northeast/North Central 3 = Southwest 4= Most Areas 3. MATURITY: 98 92 Days From Seeding to Harvest 4. PLANT:Fertility: 1 1 1 = Andromonoecious 2 = Monoecious 3 = Gynoecious 4 =Other         Habit: 1 1 1 = Vine 2 = Semi-bush 3 = Bush 5. LEAF:(Mature Blade of Third Leaf) Shape: 3 3 1 = Orbicular 2 = Ovate 3 =Reniform (Cordate) Lobes: 2 2 1 = Not Lobed 2 = Shallowly Lobed 3 =Deeply Lobed Color: 2 2 1 = Light Green (Honey Dew) 2 = Medium Green 3 =Dark Green (Rio Gold) Color Chart Name RHS RHS Color Chart Code (GG =Green Group; Green N137A Yellow Green 147A YGG = Yellow Green Group)Length mm 112 113.4 Width mm 157.7 158.3 Surface: 3 3 1 = Pubescent 2 =Glabrous 3 = Scabrous 6. FRUIT: (at Edible Maturity): Length in cm 16.915.6 Diameter in cm 14.6 14.0 Weight in gram 1989.7 1644.9 Shape: 1 =Oblate 2 = Oval 3 = Round 2 2 4 = Elongate-Cylindrical 5 = Spindle 6 =Acorn Surface: 1 = Smooth 2 = Netted 3 = 2 2 Corrugated 4 = WartedBlossom Scar: 1 1 1 = Obscure 2 = Conspicuous Rib Presence: 1 2 1 =Absent 2 = Present No. Ribs per Fruit NA 9.5 Rib Width at Medial in mmN.A. 43.24 Ribs Surface: 1 = Smooth 2 = Netted N.A. 1 Suture Depth: 1 =Shallow (Golden N.A. 1 Delight) 2 = Medium 3 = Deep (Hackensack) SutureSurface: 1 = Smooth 2 = Netted N.A. 1 Shipping Quality: 1 = Poor (HomeGarden) 3 2 2 = Fair (Short Distance Shipping) 3 = Excellent (LongDistance Shipping) Fruit Abscission: 3 3 1 = When Ripe 2 = When Overripe3 = Do Not Abscise 7. RIND NET: Net Presence: 1 = Absent 2 = Sparse 3 =3 3 Abundant Distribution: 1 = Spotty 2 = Covers Entire 2 2 FruitCoarseness: 1 = Fine 2 = Medium Coarse 3 = 2 2 Very Coarse Interlacing:1 = None 2 = Some 3 = 3 3 Complete Interstices: 1 = Shallow 2 = MediumDeep 2 2 3 = Deep 8. RIND TEXTURE: Texture: 1 = Soft 2 = Firm 3 = Hard 22 Thickness at Medial in mm 5.35 4.39 9. RIND COLOR: 01 = White 02 =Cream 03 = Buff 04 = Yellow 05 = Gold 06 = Green 07 = Orange 08 = Bronze09 = Brown 10 = Gray 11 = Black 12 = Other (Specify)    Color Chart NameRHS RHS Rind Color At Edible Maturity Primary Color/ 04/05 05/07 ColorChart Value 17C (Yellow Orange) 21A (Yellow Orange) Mottling Color/ N.A.N.A. Color Chart Value Net Color/ 02/03 02/03 Color Chart Value 159A(Orange White) 158A (Yellow White) Furrow (Suture)/ N.A. 06 Color ChartValue N137A (Green) Rind Color At Full Maturity Primary Color/ 05/07 08Color Chart Value 163B (Greyed Orange) 22A (Yellow Orange) MottlingColor/ N.A. N.A. Color Chart Value Net Color/ 07/02 07/02 Color ChartValue 164D (Orange White) 159B (Orange White) Furrow (Suture)/ N.A. 06Color Chart Value 136A (Green) 10. FLESH (At Edible Maturity): 01 =White 02 = Cream 03 = Yellow 04 = Green 05 = Orange 06 = Salmon 07 =Pink 08 = Other (Specify) Magenta    Color Chart Name RHS RHS Color NearCavity/ 08 05 Color Chart Value 32D (Orange Red) 24B (Orange) Color inCenter/ 08 05 Color Chart Value 32C (Orange Red) 24A (Orange) Color NearRind/ 08 05 Color Chart Value 32C (Orange Red) 24A (Orange)Refractometer % Soluable Solids (Center 12.73 12.02 of Flesh) Aroma: 1 =Absent 2 = Faint 3 = Strong 1 2 Flavor: 1 = Mild 2 = Somewhat Spicy 3 =1 1 Very Spicy 11. SEED CAVITY: Length in mm 110.48 105.53 Width in mm53.68 60.79 Shape in X-Section: 1 1 1 = Circular 2 = Triangular 12.SEEDS: No. Seeds per Fruit 664 561 gm per 1,000 Seeds 38 30 13. DISEASERESISTANCE: 0 = not tested; 1 = susceptible, 2 = resistant BacterialWilt 1 1 Root Rot 1 1 Crown Blight 1 1 Melon Rust 0 0 Powdery Mildew 2 2Verticillum Wilt 0 0 Sulphur Burn 2 2 Scab 0 0 Watermelon Mosaic 0 0Downy Mildew 2 2 Fusarium Wilt 1 1 Root Knot (Nematode) 2 2 Anthracnose1 1 Cucumber Mosiac 0 0 Squash Mosaic 0 0 Other (specify)     0 0 14.INSECT RESISTANCE: 0 = not tested; 1 = susceptible, 2 = resistant Aphid1 1 Pickle Worm 0 0 Darkling Ground Beetle 0 0 Banded Cucumber Beetle 00 Mite 0 0 Western Spotted Cucumber Beetle 0 0 Melon Leafhopper 0 0Melon Worm 0 0 Western Striped Cucumber Beetle 0 0 Melon Leafminer 0 0Other (Specify)     0 0These are typical values. Values may vary due to environment. Othervalues that are substantially equivalent are also within the scope ofthe invention. N.A.=not applicable; n.r.=not recorded.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A seed of melon variety NUN 26191 MEM,wherein a representative sample of said seed has been deposited underAccession Number NCIMB
 42420. 2. A plant produced by growing the seed ofclaim
 1. 3. A plant part produced from the plant of claim
 2. 4. A methodof producing a melon plant, comprising crossing the plant of claim 2with a second melon plant one or more times, and selecting progeny fromsaid crossing.
 5. A method of producing a melon plant, comprisingselfing the plant of claim 2 one or more times, and selecting progenyfrom said selfing.
 6. Progeny of the plant of claim 2 wherein saidprogeny have all the physiological and morphological characteristics ofmelon variety NUN 26191 MEM when grown under the same environmentalconditions.
 7. A method of producing plants, or a part thereof, ofvariety NUN 26191 MEM comprising vegetative propagation of the plant ofclaim 2 or a regenerable part of progeny thereof.
 8. The method of claim7, wherein said vegetative propagation comprises regenerating a wholeplant from a part of variety NUN 26191 MEM.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein said part is a cutting, a cell culture or a tissue culture. 10.A vegetative propagated plant of variety NUN 26191 MEM of claim 2, or apart thereof, having all the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 26191 MEM when grown under the same environmentalconditions, wherein a representative sample of seed of NUN 26191 MEM hasbeen deposited under Accession Number NCIMB
 42420. 11. The plant part ofclaim 3 or a vegetative propagated plant therefrom, wherein said plantpart is selected from the group consisting of harvested fruit or partsthereof, pollen, cells, leaves or parts thereof, petioles, shoots orparts thereof, stems or parts thereof, roots or parts thereof, cuttings,flowers and parts of flowers thereof, wherein a representative sample ofseed of NUN 26191 MEM has been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB42420.
 12. A food or feed product comprising the plant part of claim 11;wherein the plant part is harvested fruit or parts thereof.
 13. The foodor feed product of claim 12, wherein said plant part is fresh orprocessed.
 14. A method of producing a melon plant having a desiredtrait, wherein the method comprises transforming the melon plant ofclaim 2 with a transgene that confers the desired trait, wherein thetransformed plant retains all the phenotypic and morphologicalcharacteristics of variety NUN 26191 MEM and contains the desired trait,a representative sample of seed of said variety NUN 26191 MEM havingbeen deposited under Accession Number NCIMB
 42420. 15. A melon plantproduced by the method of claim 14, wherein the plant comprises thedesired trait and all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 26191 MEM.
 16. A cell or tissue culture producedfrom the plant of claim
 2. 17. A melon plant regenerated from the cellor tissue culture of claim 16, said plant having all the morphologicaland physiological characteristics of NUN 26191 MEM, wherein arepresentative sample having been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB42420.